NYC Real Estate Market Reports
Manhattan Monthly Report
October 2026 | Condos & Co-ops
October 2026 at a Glance
Manhattan buyers signed 960 condo and co-op contracts in October. That’s down 14% from a year ago and 3% below the ten-year October average, the slowest October since 2023. Activity jumped 37% from September as the fall market arrived. The buyers who did sign moved quickly. Days on market fell 23% to 91, four weeks shorter than last October and 24% below the historical average for the month. Active listings fell to 6,187, the lowest October total since 2016, and the average contract signed just 1.0% below the last asking price.
Every Price Range Fell. Under $1M Fell Most.
Contracts declined in every price band. Under $1M fell 18% to 392, a loss of 86 contracts, more than the 67 lost across every other price band combined. The $1M to $2M range fell 8% to 283, $2M to $3M fell 14% to 108, $3M to $5M fell 13% to 97, and over $5M slipped 11% to 80.
Corcoran attributes the entry-level decline to mortgage rates and thin inventory, and those two pressures land hardest on the buyer who needs financing and has the fewest options. Above $1M, contracts fell 11% combined. Brooklyn’s October looked different: its entry level fell 11%, and the sharpest declines came between $1M and $3M. In Manhattan, the entry level is where buyers are getting squeezed out.
Condos Down 23%, Co-ops Down 7%. Both Sold Faster.
Condo contracts fell 23% to 386, from roughly 500 a year ago, and condos account for most of Manhattan’s decline. Co-op contracts fell 7% to 574. Neither product type is sitting, though. Condo days on market fell 14% to 109, and co-ops dropped 28% to 80.
Condos still give buyers the most room. They signed an average of 1.7% below ask, against 0.4% for co-ops. In a market this tight, 1.7% is the difference between a negotiation and a bidding war.
Midtown Lost 50 Contracts. The Upper East Side Lost Two.
Upper East Side: 238 contracts, down 1% from 240. This was the steadiest submarket in Manhattan by a wide margin, and it signed the second-most contracts in the borough, behind Downtown. The buyer pool here is deep and established, and in October it barely moved.
Downtown: 278 contracts, down 12% from 315. Downtown remains the volume leader in Manhattan. It lost 37 contracts, which is the second-largest absolute decline, but at 278 it still signed 40 more contracts than any other submarket.
Upper West Side: 184 contracts, down 9% from 203. This was the second-smallest percentage decline in Manhattan, behind only the Upper East Side. Together, the two Upper Sides lost 21 contracts. Midtown lost 50 on its own.
Midtown: 156 contracts, down 24% from 206. Midtown lost 50 contracts, the largest drop in Manhattan and a third of the borough’s entire decline. Much of Midtown’s inventory is new development condos, and its 24% slide is in line with the borough’s 23% condo decline.
Financial District & Battery Park City: 38 contracts, down 21% from 48. Ten fewer contracts on a small base. This is a condo market, and it moved with condos.
Upper Manhattan: 66 contracts, down 35% from 101. This was the steepest percentage decline in the borough, and it reverses August’s 21% gain. Upper Manhattan is where Manhattan’s entry-level buyer goes, and October was the month the entry level gave ground.
6,187 Manhattan Listings, the Fewest for October Since 2016
Active listings totaled 6,187 in October, down 9% from a year ago, 3% below September, and 16% below the ten-year October average. Inventory has now fallen year over year for ten consecutive months. Condo listings fell 8% to 3,241, and co-op listings fell 10% to 2,946. Manhattan lost listings from September to October. Brooklyn added them in both months.
The Smallest Discount Off Ask Since 2022
Average price per square foot was $1,910, down 3% from last year and 2% from September. Most of that decline comes from the top of the market. Contracts above $5,000 per square foot fell from six last October to two this year, and at that price level, four deals are enough to move the borough average. Condos averaged $2,097 per square foot, down 3%, and resale co-ops averaged $1,400, down 4%. The average contract signed 1.0% below the last ask, the smallest discount since 2022 and three points tighter than September.
What October Means
Fewer contracts, faster sales, smaller discounts and the thinnest October inventory since 2016 all point the same way. Manhattan isn’t short on buyers. It’s short on listings, and the buyers who are active are competing for what’s there. A 14% drop in contracts reads as weakness until you see that the apartments that did sell went four weeks faster than last year.
If you own in Manhattan, this is a seller’s setup with a narrow catch. Inventory fell again from September to October, and a well-priced listing is competing with fewer alternatives than in any October since 2016. The catch is the entry level. Below $1M, the buyer pool shrank faster than supply, and pricing there has to account for buyers who are stretched on financing.
If you’re buying, expect to pay close to ask for anything well located and well priced, particularly on the Upper East and Upper West Sides. Condos are where the room is, at 1.7% below ask on average. If you’re weighing Manhattan against Brooklyn, the two markets are moving in opposite directions. Manhattan listings are down 9% from last year, while Brooklyn’s are up 15%, so a Brooklyn buyer has more to choose from. Brooklyn condos are also signing 0.4% above ask, so more choice there doesn’t mean discounts. Manhattan supply has now fallen for ten straight months. November will show whether the fall listings arrive at all.
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